


Right There Where We Stood Was Holy Ground

by washtheseghostsclean



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, Misunderstandings, Pining, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:00:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27764905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/washtheseghostsclean/pseuds/washtheseghostsclean
Summary: Max reminds him a bit of the ocean water, at its calmest days it’s peaceful and lovely. But when a storm comes the waters turn angry and can take you under. No matter how much you fight, how fast you swim, they suck you into their depths and you die.
Relationships: Daniel Ricciardo/Max Verstappen
Comments: 4
Kudos: 104





	Right There Where We Stood Was Holy Ground

**Author's Note:**

> I mean, you're not complying about the Taylor inspiration so... Also in the ten years I'm writing I have never done a soulmates/soulmark au? I cannot believe it either. Also rated Mature just to be safe!
> 
> Songs in the order mentioned:  
> ~Holy Ground  
> ~Out Of The Woods  
> ~Getaway Car  
> ~Cardigan

_And darling, it was good, never looking down_

_And right there where we stood was holy ground_

* * *

It struck him like lightning. 

Daniel did not expect this when he dragged Max out of his room three hours ago. He’s so young and this is only his first season. But Daniel can see the dark circles under Max’s eyes, the excitement slipping away day after day. He suspects that his father has something to do with it. Daniel had been there himself at the start of his career. Trying to navigate the loud world that is F1 while not stepping on anyone’s toes. Max is a good kid and he has a lot of talent. He does not have the correct support system though. It’s not his place to comment on it so Daniel does the next best thing. 

He tries to distract Max. A Taylor Swift concert seems the perfect thing to do. They dress up in as simple clothes as possible and sneak out of the hotel. It’s not long before Max is smiling and he’s talking Daniel’s ear off. He’ll stop occasionally to search for a word he doesn’t remember in English. Daniel will tease him every single time about it. The music is loud, the people louder, Taylor is giving a proper show and they are just having fun. 

Daniel feels the zing the moment Max touches his wrist. Time stops and all he can feel is the bass of the song. Max does not seem to realize what has happened but Daniel has. 

_No. No. No._

It’s not possible. 

The rest of the night is a blur for him and Daniel dares to look at the inside of his wrist only after he’s back to his room. 

_Gezelligheid_ is written in cursive neat characters. The letters are still faint but he knows they will become darker as time passes by. 

Daniel hates them but there’s no way to remove them. You do not choose your soulmate, it chooses you. What if that means that Daniel will be miserable for the rest of his life? Because there’s no way in hell Max Verstappen will ever accept this.

* * *

_Remember when you hit the brakes too soon?_

_Remember when we couldn't take the heat?_

_I walked out, I said "I'm setting you free"_

_But the monsters turned out to be just trees_

* * *

There are good days. 

There are bad days. 

And then there are days in between. 

Sometimes they can stand each other and joke and laugh. Others, they fight like they’re trying to tear each other apart. The team knows better than to get involved these days. Christian has established one rule, though. Whatever they have against each other stays outside the track. They are not allowed to risk the team because they are both arrogant asses. Daniel is fine with that, he’s fine with Christian setting the boundaries he cannot. Because by God Daniel loses all self-control when it comes to dealing with Max. 

He wants to pull him into his arms when he sees Jos going after him. He wants to yell at Jos to fuck off and leave Max alone. He cannot, though. Daniel is nothing to Max, no matter the soulmark on his wrist. Other times he wants to strangle Max himself because the younger man does not know when to stop pushing. It feels like he’s pressing all of Daniel’s buttons waiting to see what will happen. As if Daniel is a new toy and Max wants to see how fast he can break it. 

He manages it in Baku. 

Daniel is calm in front of Christian and Helmut. It will not do for them to see him like this. He puts his head down and accepts the feedback. He apologizes for something that wasn't his fault and leaves the room before anyone can stop him. Daniel yells when he’s finally back in his room. He turns on his music as loud as possible, gets into the shower, and just yells. They lost points, today, points that could have taken him one step closer to the championship. 

He’s mad at Christian and Helmut for not putting Max in his place. 

He’s mad at the fucking universe for fucking with him this way. 

He’s mad at Max for being a dickhead and not letting him pass when he knows Daniel was faster today. 

His anger flares back up when he realizes that he’s not alone in his room. 

“How did you get in here?” Daniel snaps going through his suitcase, looking for clothes. Max is sitting on his bed, his clear blue eyes glued on Daniel as he moves around the room. 

“You gave me your key.” He shrugs. Daniel _has_ given him the key so he cannot complain about that. Max tends to have nightmares when he’s stressed. Daniel had the pleasure to find out over a weekend they shared a room because the team was stupid and could not book two separate suites. He was woken up by Max whimpering and thrashing. He had slipped into bed with him and held him until Max had calmed down enough to be able to sleep again. They had established an unspoken rule since then that Max would always have the key to Daniel if he was feeling overwhelmed. God knows, his father and the management did not give a fuck about Max’s mental well being. 

“After today I wonder why.” Daniel’s words come out a bit harsher than he wanted but he’s still not over it. He hears movement behind him but makes a point of ignoring Max. Until he’s too close for Daniel’s brain to be able to register anything but body heat and Max’s intoxicating smell. He hates himself for it. Daniel absolutely hates the idea that Max has so much power over him. That his presence in a room can command Daniel’s attention no matter what. He has no time to react when Max turns him around and crashes their lips together. 

His brain is screaming to push Max away, to do anything but _this_. His body has other ideas though. Instead, he wraps his arms around Max’s neck, his fingers slipping inside Max’s soft hair and Daniel only pulls him closer. 

This is his downfall.

* * *

_I'm in a getaway car_

_I left you in the motel bar_

_Put the money in a bag and I stole the keys_

_That was the last time you ever saw me_

* * *

Daniel has no self-control and Max seems to catch up to that fairly quickly. So he takes advantage of that secret whenever he can. Daniel for his part cannot say no when Max appears on his door. Maybe a part of him does not want to say it either. Daniel loves the sea, he grew up beside it. Max reminds him a bit of the ocean water, at its calmest days it’s peaceful and lovely. But when a storm comes the waters turn angry and can take you under. No matter how much you fight, how fast you swim, they suck you into their depths and you die.

And fuck Daniel can feel this more than ever. They spend every night in bed together, and every morning switchings between flights and tracks. The more his love for Max grows though the loathing for the team rises too. Christian and Helmut have put their complete focus on Max and his performance alone. Daniel is willing to do a lot for him but he refuses to risk his career. He loves Max but he also loves what he’s doing. On the other hand, Daniel hates coming second. So when Cyril comes to him with double the money Red Bull is giving him he sees an opportunity and takes it. He does not inform anyone. Not the team, not Max, no one. It’s not like what he has with Max is anything more than sex anyway. The soul mark on his wrist is mocking him, though, getting darker by the day. This thing between himself and Max is bigger than anything.

Max is waiting for him in his hotel room after the announcement is made. Daniel still has a few races with Red Bull, not that anyone is talking to him anyway. There’s a storm brewing in Max’s eyes. Daniel can see the blue waves coming towards him and he tries to explain. He tries to recite his reasons for leaving to Max but nothing comes out of his lips. When Max kisses him Daniel feels the water fill his lungs. He’s once more underwater, he’s trying to breathe but everything around him is Max.

Max’s hands on his body. Max’s lips on his skin. They are rough with each other, anger and frustration bleeding into the way they come together. Max digs his nails on Daniel’s back as they move. Daniel sucks bruises into Max’s neck in retaliation. Such a lovely storm raging between them. It’s early in the morning by the time they are both exhausted. No one of them is satiated but it will have to do for now.

“I’m sorry,” Daniel whispers in Max’s hair. They’re tangled together, not knowing where one ends and the other begins. Daniel is not sure why he’s apologizing. He just knows that if he does not say it he will regret it for the rest of his life.

“So am I.” Max murmurs back.

This is the moment Daniel realizes how much this connection to Max terrifies him.

So he runs.

* * *

_But I knew you'd linger like a tattoo kiss_

_I knew you'd haunt all of my what-ifs_

_I knew I'd curse you for the longest time_

_I knew you'd miss me once the thrill expired_

_And you'd be standin' in my front porch light_

* * *

2019 is not his year. 

Working for Renault should have been a good move for his career. Instead, Daniel has one DNF after another. Cyril tries to assure him that they will work this out. He is still finishing within the top ten even though he’s not on a podium. That’s good, it means they are on a good path and the podium will come soon. Daniel is not convinced. He sees Max between press duties, sometimes they say ‘hi’, others they’re both too busy to even look at each other. Daniel ignores the way his heart misses a bit every time that happens. He tries to not pay attention to his fingers itching to reach for Max, to pull him into a hug. To trace the skin that shows between his T-shirt and jeans every time he raises his arms. 

Daniel tries not to think about the empty side of his bed. He tries not to think about how warm Max’s body was against him during the night. How perfect they fitted together. It doesn’t matter anyway because while Max is Daniel’s soulmate Daniel is not Max’s. He was never able to see a soul mark on Max even though Daniel had mapped his body out with his tongue. So yeah, it doesn’t matter how much Daniel needs him, Max will not be there. He’s typed out a lot of messages he has later deleted. 

_‘I miss you.’_

_‘I want to see you.’_

_‘Are you sleeping enough?’_

_‘I wish you were here.’_

Daniel is surprised, to say the least when he finds Max waiting for him outside his hotel room. He saw the DNF he had. He also saw Jos lurking around in the paddock and Daniel can just imagine how that scene played out. God knows, he had been part of some of them back in the day. There were a lot of times that Christian had to physically hold him back so he wouldn’t pummel Jos into a bloody mess. 

“I had nowhere else to go,” Max tells him, sitting on the dirty hotel floor and he looks so broken. Daniel just wants to pull him into his arms and keep him there forever. He extends a hand to Max and pulls him up. The moment the door closes Max just slips into Daniel’s arms and Daniel is gone. The familiar smell of the track and what he can only name as Max enveloping him. 

“I’m here.” He whispers in Max’s hair as the younger man finally let go. Daniel can feel the quiet sobs as he pulls them towards the bed. “I’m here, Maxy. It’s okay.” He doesn’t know if it has been minutes or hours but Max has calmed down. There’s a comfortable silence between them, it’s like a day hasn’t passed since the last time they laid together on a bed. Max’s fingertips are tracing uneven patterns against the inside of his palm. 

“My soulmark finally appeared,” Max murmurs flexing his fingers, and Daniel tenses. 

“Whoever they are, they will be very lucky.” He replies and tries to sound sincere, even though he’s not. 

“He is.” Max holds his hand up for Daniel to see. There at the fingertip of Max’s index finger, Daniel can see the word ‘ _Gangsta_ ’ in the same cursive characters he has on his wrist. “I’ve read that you get your soulmark exactly where you touched your soulmate for the first time. We always touched back then but never skin to skin. That concert was the first time we actually did.” Daniel has been underwater for so long that he does not realize he can breathe again. It takes a moment for Max’s words to make sense. His brain is trying to make sense of the information. 

Then everything falls into place. 

Daniel’s lips find Max’s the very next moment, kissing him hungrily. Daniel lets four years of pain and longing slip into that kiss. He pushes Max on his back, settling between his thighs. Max is only too happy to let Daniel lead, his hands moving under Daniel’s shirt to touch him. 

“I love you.” Daniel breaths as they come up for air, his forehead pressing tightly against Max’s. There’s the calm blue sea again. Max’s relaxed smile only makes Daniel happier. 

”I love you too.” It’s simple four words, yet they make Daniel’s heart soar.

* * *

_And I knew you'd come back to me_

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> I came back to edit this just so I can say to everyone that Taylor did give an F1 concert in 2016 (the Austin GP) where she did sing Holy Ground and the first scene is set in that concert. lol


End file.
